Driver sentenced for leaving special needs students on bus

NEWTON, N.J. (AP) — A school bus driver who left two special needs children alone in the vehicle for 45 minutes during a hot summer day has been sentenced to three years of probation.

The New Jersey Herald (http://bit.ly/1wjqwkK) reports that 47-year-old Kimberly Moumblow, of Highland Lakes, must also undergo a mental health evaluation. The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said in November that Moumblow, in custody of the 7- and 9-year-old boys, skipped their stops, failed to inspect the school bus and left the pair unattended. The driver told authorities the bus had run into an emergency, but the bus was running, and the children were safe, superintendent Charles Maranzano said at the time. As a fourth-degree crime, cruelty and neglect of a child can carry a potential penalty of up to 18 months in jail, though there is a presumption of a non-custodial sentence.